Discharge-valve arrangement for transportation tanks



C. A. LINDSTROM DISCHARGE VALVE ARRANGEMENT FOR TRANSPORTATION TANKS Filed Jan. 31. 92 5 Sheets-Sheet l IIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIII Jan. 20. 1925;

c. A. LINDSTROM DISCHARGE VALVE ARRANGEMENT FOR TRANSPORTATION TANKS Filed Janj 31, 1921 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Maw;

Zlwuwntom Jan, 20. 1925.

C. A. LINDSTROM DISCHARGE VALVE ARRANGEMENT FOR TRANSPORTATION TANKS Filed Jan. 31, 1921 3 Sheets-Sheet 8 .i-TE;

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CHARLES A. LINDSTROM, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA; THE UNION TRUST COM- PANY"OF"PITTSBURGH EXECUTOR 033 THE ESTATE OF SAID CHARLES A LIND- STROIVI, DECEASED;

DISCHARGE-VALVE ARRANGEMENT FO'R TRANSPORTATION TANKS.

Application filed-January 31, 1921; Serial No. 441,262.

Discharge-Valve Arrangements for Trans portation Tanks, of whichvthe: following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part otpthis specification, in which- Figure 1 is a .partial longitudinal vertical section of atank car, showing one form of my: invention applied thereto;

Figure 2.1s.-a.deta1l view showlng aver tical section ofthe partsat the upper part:

of Figure 1 but in a; diiferent position;

Figures Suand L are vertical longitudinal sections of a portion of atank showing two other embodiments;

Figure 5 parts;

Figure-6 isa view similar to Figure 1, but showing a: further unoclification;

Figure 7 is a: detail view partly in plan and partly in horizontal section, of some of the partsshownin Figure 6; and

Figure 8 is a perspectiveview of'the lever and cam of Figure Hy inventionhas relation to discharge valve devices or arrangements for trans portationztanks such as are used intransporting oils or other liquidsand which are provided with a bottom discharge opening.

In the use ofta-nk cars of the character above described, the shape ofthe tanks frequently become very considerably distorted owing to injuries received in service and also from the strains caused by the weight oi the tanks and their contents. The re sult of this is that the proper relations between the length of the upwardly extending'stems of the. valves and the diameter of the tanks is notmaintained, which interferes with the proper operation-and seating ofthe' 7 valves.

One objec-tof my invention isto provide means of simple. and efiici'ent character which will automatically compensate for changes in the rotundity of'th'etanks-and permit of proper operation of the valve regardless of such changes.

is a detail view of certain oi the Another object of my invention is to providemeans of simple and efiic'ient character which will permit the valveto readily adjust itself'to the valve seat without affectingithe stem or interfering with the proper operation of the parts.-

A further object'ot' my invention is to provide a telltale device which will be operated bythe'movement of the valve or it's-stem for the purpose of indicating wiiether orsnot the valves are properly seatec. form of means which will act topositively prevent the seating of the cover over the hole-in the dome, througlrwhich the valve isoperated until the valve is closed.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a construction and arrangement of this character which will be simple in its construction andhnot liable to get out of orderin. service and in: which the valve may readily be detached and removed;

The nature of my invention will be best understood by reference to the accompanying drawings in which Ihave shown several different embodiments of it and which will now be described, it being premised, however, that the embodiments shown are illustrative only and that various modifications maybe made in the construction, arrangement-and combination of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention as defined in the appended claims.

In the formof my invention shown in Figures 1 and 2', the reference character 2 designates the tank of a transportation car of any usual or suitable construction and which is provided with a dome 3 having the dome head 4 and the removable top closure 20. The tank is provided with a bottom discharge spout arrangement which is preferably of the form" described and claimed in my Patent No. 1,335,445, dated March 30, 1920-. A valved isconnecteditothe lower portion/Tot a twopart stem 7 and 8 by a.

quick detachable connection of some suitable character. This connection may consist inprovid-ing the lowerend of the stem section 7 with a head or button 9, convex on its under side and adapted to fit within the concave bottom portion of a seat 10 on the valve, being secured to the later by a removable U shapedkey 11, shown in'section in Figure 1. The two sections 7 and 8 of the valve stem are united by a slip joint or slip hearing as indicated at 12, the joint forming portions of the two sections having a vertically slidable connection with each other, but being so shaped in cross section that the two sections will rotate as a unit.

The valve is normally held to its seat .by means of a spring 13 which surrounds the valve stem and is seated at its lower 'end upon a shoulder 14 on the lower portion 7 of the stem and bears at its upper end against an extension 15 of a bracket 15. The valve stem section 7 has a screw thread 16 which cooperates with the internally threaded head 17 of the bracket 15 whereby when the valve stem is turned in the proper direction the valve is unseated. Mounted 011 the upper end of the valve stem section 8 is an actuating handle or lever 18.

It will be readily seen that by the provi' sion of the slip joint 12 the main portion of the valve stem is rendered largely independent of the valve proper and that the latter is capable of a considerable vertical movement independent of the section 8 of the stem. This permits flattening or change in the vertical diameter of the tank with V out disturbing the operative function of the Lil - slip joints.

valve rod.

. In these figures I have also shown a telltale device in connection with the valve stem. It is usual in the construction of transportation tanks to locate the valve and valve stem away from the vertical center line of the dome, to give free access to the interior of the tank when the dome cover is removed. This places the valve in a position 1n which its upper end is readily supported by a bracket, as shown in Figures 1, 2, 3 and 1. The telltale device is attached to this bracket and consists of a lever 19 pivoted at 19 and extending across the valve stem to a point beyond the edge of the opening in the dome, as shown in Fig-i ures 1 and 3, or near to the opening, as shown in Figure 4. The free end portion of the lever 19 is bent upwardly to a position in which it is normally just clear of the under side of the cover plate. The valve stem is made in two parts and there are two The lower one 12 extends upwardly from thcshoulder 14 and the upper -onc is at the upper end portion 21, which that if the valve is not properly seated this fact would be indicated by the lever 19, and also, that the upper end of said lever will act as positive means to prevent the seating of the cover 20 so long as the discharge valve remains unseated. Any difiiculty in seating this cover plate will therefore warn the operator that the valve is not properly seated and it will be necessary to close the valve before the cover is fastened down.

In the construction shown in Figure 3 the stem 13 is arranged below the head 17 of the bracket 15 and bears at its lower end against a shoulder 14'' on thelower end of the valve stem and at its upper end against the lower side of the head 17. In this construction the valve stem is made in one piece but its upper end portion 21 is of angular form as in the construction shown. in Figures 1 and 2 to provide a slip joint between the upper end of the valve stem and the hub of the operating handle or lever 18.

Figure 1 shows a furthermodification of the invention. In this form the lower section 7 of the valve stem has a tooth 22 which co-acts with the thread in the head 17 of the bracket 15. The upper section 8" of the valve stem is connected to the lower section 7 by a slip joint 12 located above the head 17. The construction below the head 17 is like that shown in- Figure 3.

The valve stem section 8? is provided at its upper end with an actuating lever or handle 18 having the slip joint connection 21 with the valve stem and provided with a cam portion 23. This cam portion is so arranged that as the lever isturned to unseat the valve it raises the telltale lever 19 and thereby projects the pin 24: connected to the free end of such lever to'a position which will prevent the seating of the cover plate 20*.

Figure 6 shows a still further modifica tion which is generally similar to that shown in Figurekl, except that the lower a 'bracket' arm has been made in two parts,

15 and 15 Set screws 25' are added to thesuprights of the said bracket and the diameter'of the shoulder 14 of the valve stem isincreased' The objectof making the bracket in two parts is to. facilitate the sary to lift a valve acomparatively small amount in order to obtain an annular openseated; further, if the valve should be lift ed clear out of its seat, diiiicul'ties would arise in having it properly seated again without guidance by hand. hen raising the valve the required amount for emptying the contents of'the tank the shoulder 14:? on

the stem/7 will come. u) a ainst the Sto 3" screws 25 which will prevent further raising; when, however, it should become necessary to remove the valve entirely the screws 25 are screwed out, permitting the raising of the shoulder let to a height suflicient for the valve 6 to clear the seat 10, thus permitting its removal. For this purpose the pitch of the thread 16 should be such that a one-half turn of the stem will be suilicient to lift the valve to give the required area of discharge opening at the valve. For the same purpose, the cam 23 on the hub portion of the actuating handle 18 is made of such shape (see Figure 8) as to give the required lift to the pin 24 by a half turn of the lever 18, after which the telltale lever 19 will ride idly on the horizontal portion of the cam surface. Similar modifications and additions may be made in the constructions shown in Figures 1 and 8 by-inserting a pin through the lower end of the valve stem a suflicient distance below the bottom of head 17 to allow for the required lift of the valve, this pin to be removed when it is desired to remove the valve entirely.

It will, therefore, be obvious that the telltale device, either as a telltale merely, or so arranged to act as a guard, may take various other forms and arrangements than those described. It is also obvious that changes can be made in the form and arrangement of the slip joint, 'as well as in the construction and character of the valve, its seat and other parts.

The advantages of my invention will be apparent to those familiar with the operation of transportation tanks since it overcomes in a simple, efiicient, positive manner the difiiculties above referred to; and in its more complete form also insures that the discharge valve shall be properly reseated after each operation thereof.

I claim:

1. The combination with 'a transportation tank having a bottom discharge opening and provided with a filling dome, of a valve for closing said opening, a valve-operating stem projecting upwardly therefrom, a bracket supporting the upper end of said stem, and a telltale lever operatively supported by said bracket in position to overlie the upper end of said stem and to be operatively engaged thereby, whereby when the stem has been operated to open the valve, the telltale lever will be in raised position, substantially as described.

2. The combination with a transportation tank havinga bottom discharge opening and provided with a filling dome, of a valve for closing said opening, a valve-operating stem projecting upwardly therefrom, a bracket supporting the upper end of said stem, and a telltale lever pivotally supported by said bracket in position to overlie the upper end of said stem and to be operatively engaged thereby, whereby when'the stem has-been operated to open the valve, the telltale lever will be in raised position, substantially as described.

3. The combination with a transportation tank having a bottom discharge opening and provided with a filling dome, of a valve for closing said opening, a valve-operating stem projecting upwardly therefrom, a bracket supporting the upper end of said stem, and a telltale lever operatively supported by said bracket in position to overlie the upper end of said stem and to be operatively engaged thereby, whereby when the stem has been operated to open the valve, the telltale lever will be in raised position, said stem being constructed to permit variations in the length thereof without operating the telltale lever, substantially as describe 4. The combination with a tank car having a bottom discharge opening and pro vided with a dome, of a lifting valve for controlling said opening, a stem extending upwardly from said valve into the dome, and operating means for said stem slidably secured thereto, said dome having a removable portion, and means actuated by the movement of the valve for preventing the reseating of said removable portion when the valve is in unseated position, substan tially as described.

5. The combination with a tank car having a bottom discharge opening and provided with a dome, of a lifting valve for controlling said opening, valve operating means extending upwardly from said valve into the dome and connected to said valve whereby to move the s'ame away from its sea-t, said dome having a removable portion, means supported independently of but actuated by the valve operating means for preventing the reseating of said removable portion when the valve is in unseated position, and removable means for normally limiting the opening movement of said valve, substantially as described.

6. The combination with a tank car having a bottom discharge opening and provided with a dome, of alifting valve for controlling said opening, operating means for said valve extending upwardly therefrom into the dome and connected to the valve, said dome having a removable portion, and telltale means pivotally supported in said dome independently of said valve operating means and actuated by the latter lLlQ for preventing the reseating of said removable portion when the valve 1s in unseated position, substantially as described.

7. The combination with a tank car having a bottom discharge opening and provided with a dome, of a lifting Valve for controlling said opening, valve-operating means extending upwardly from said valve into the dome, the construction being such 3" that said valve-operating means must be actuated in order to either unseat or seat the valve, s'aid dome having a removable portion and means supported independently of but actuated by the valve-operating means for preventing the reseating of said removable portion hen the valve is in unseated position.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand.

CHARLES A, LINDSTROLNL 

